We’ve received 161 areas for constitutional amendment, says Ben Kalu

Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, says the committee
on the review of the 1999 constitution has received 161 proposals for amendment.

The deputy speaker spoke to journalists in Abuja after his presentation to state governors at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum meeting.

In January, Kalu assured that the lower legislative chamber would conclude work on the amendment of the 1999 constitution in December 2025.

Kalu, chair of the constitution review committee, described the meeting as productive, adding that engaging governors is crucial for progress in the ongoing amendment process.

“We consider it important to come and engage the governors to bring them up to speed, taking them through our work plan, what we have achieved so far and where we are heading to,” NAN quoted Kalu as saying.

“We have had a robust discussion, and I must say, the governors made beautiful contributions and they are in support of the constitutional review.

“We informed them that we are going to be visiting their states and the geo-political zones to advance the opinions of the public in their various zones with regards to the thematic areas of the constitution that we are looking at.

“We informed them that we have received about 161 areas to amend in the constitution and we are going to give them the breakdown of all of them in the coming engagement.

The deputy speaker asked governors to nominate a liaison officer, noting that this would facilitate timely inputs and feedback between states and the committee.

“This will make things easier when we get to the states; it won’t be difficult having the state Houses of Assembly to perform the constitutional role which is two-third voting,’’ he said.

He stressed that the committee will continue engaging governors for inputs on constitutional amendment, adding that they “did not dwell on tax reforms”.

On state police, the deputy speaker noted that governors displayed open-mindedness and professionalism as nationalists and leaders on the issue.

“The governors did not dwell on state police as well. They are interested in what will make the nation move forward,” Kalu added.

“They were not exact on any particular thematic area because we laid before them various thematic areas that we are considering now.”